Genres

There are six Genres to choose from when you begin a new Avatar. Each of these Genres has a unique set of Powers which can be accessed to develop your character as it advances in the Nexus. We will explain these Powers in detail later.

Genres are considered general guidelines for the frame of reference which your Avatar embraces. It is up to your imagination to tailor your Genre choice and the associated raw Powers to your Avatar and role play the way that they are manifested to other Avatars. For example, if your Avatar comes from the Fantasy Genre and can cause damage with an elemental wide-area damage spell, it is up to you to determine whether he is a Mage who casts a firestorm, a mermaid who can manifest a wall of water, or a golem who can move a piece of a mountain to rain down on his opponents. The interpretations of the generic Powers are as infinite as the Nexus itself.

Of the six Genres, four may be combined into a hybrid Genre selection. These are Fantasy, Technology, Superpowers and Gothic. The other two Genres are not allowed to be combined, and choosing one of them automatically makes you a single-Genre Avatar.

Although an Avatar with a hybrid Genre selection has the ability to use Powers from more than one Genre, he takes a significant penalty for doing so; the number of Ability Points available to spend on Stat enhancement, Skills and Powers are reduced.

The Cartoon Genre is unique in that it is the only Genre which represents a universe with no set laws of physics. In this way, it has some very strange powers and manifestations, such as the fact that they will never die like other Avatars can. Any Avatar who is from the Cartoon Genre also takes a penalty to the Ability Points he can use.

Likewise, the Terran Genre represents a universe in which there are no special powers, and all of the Power selections are firmly based in "reality". The theory behind a Terran Avatar is that in order to survive the frame of reference challenge and exist in the Nexus without having any enhanced abilities at all requires extraordinary effort, and as such, anyone from the Terran Genre is entitled to a bonus to his Ability Points. However, Terrans have a very limited range of "extras" that they can work with; not all are apparent when the character starts out.

Here is the way it works:

If your Avatar comes from a single Genre selected from Fantasy, Technology, Superpowers or Gothic, you receive 100% of the normal Ability Points (you start with 20 Points at Level 1).

If your Avatar comes from any two of those four Genres, you receive 90% of the normal Ability Points (you start with 18 Points at Level 1).

If your Avatar comes from any three of those four Genres, you receive 75% of the normal Ability Points (you start with 15 Points at Level 1).

If your Avatar comes from all four of those Genres, you receive 60% of the normal Ability Points (you start with 12 Points at Level 1).

If your Avatar comes from the Cartoon Genre, you receive 80% of the normal Ability Points (you start with 16 Points at Level 1).

If your Avatar comes from the Terran Genre, you receive 140% of the normal Ability Points (you start with 28 Points at Level 1).

Note that the penalties and bonuses listed above apply to EACH Level - you are eligible to receive Ability Points every time your Avatar advances 1 Level (more about this later).

Now we will explain each Genre and what it represents:

The Fantasy Genre is a frame of reference in which magic and magical creatures exist. In some universes, magic comes from the minds of the inhabitants, and in others, it is tapped from some other source. An Avatar who is from the Fantasy Genre can be a wizard, a priest (with deity-granted magic), a hero, or any of numerous other possibilities which are generally known in fantasy tales. The Avatar should determine the way that he is able to use magic (if in fact he can use magic) so that his frame of reference can be adjusted for other Avatars to see his manifestation of his Energy (this effect will be explained in detail later). Under some circumstances, a hero from the Fantasy Genre may not be able to use magic at all, but instead is enhanced by magic to be very strong or very fast, etc.

The Technology Genre needs a much more precise explanation. While in theory, even a Terran can use technology per se, this frame of reference assumes a very advanced state of technology, in which the inhabitants of the universe are able to tap into various energy sources directly. In other words, they would have command of nuclear power or quantum mechanics in much the same way that an inhabitant would be able to tap into magic in the Fantasy Genre. This Genre allows the use of advanced weapons and devices which can be embedded and powered directly into the body of the Avatar, allowing them and them alone to access certain items in the Nexus which must be self-powered. Note that unlike the Fantasy Genre, Avatars from the Technology Genre need to regain their power sources and THEN purchase or manufacture the items necessary to use that Power. Some Powers in the Technology Genre are self-reliant, such as special implants and enhancements that will tap the natural Energy reserves of the Avatar, but the vast power of a Technology Avatar resides in the Items which only he can use.

The Superpowers Genre is a frame of reference with very special characteristics. The laws of physics in a Superpowers universe allow mutations in its inhabitants to naturally affect their abilities in positive or negative ways. For example, whereas a deadly burst of radiation would kill an inhabitant of one of the other Genres, it would probably cause a mutation to an inhabitant of a Superpowers Genre, giving him a power such as flight or X-ray vision. Also unlike many of the Powers of the Fantasy and Technology Genres, the Powers of the Superpowers Genre are natural and unlimited - they are manifestations of the Avatar's own body. You can think of the Superpowers Genre as the tongue-in-cheek Genre where the laws of physics apply (unlike the Cartoon Genre), but with very strange extremes which are not easily imagined by other universes.

The Gothic Genre is the frame of reference where the unexplained is explained. Universes of this Genre have supernatural occurrences on a regular basis, and generally operate outside of what we call the normal space/time continuum. In other words, beings from multiple dimensions move in and out of the universe at will. Whether this is manifested in a Heaven and Hell, or as creatures from a "horror" culture, or a separate reality of dreams and nightmares, this Genre encompasses much that is weird and extraordinary. The Powers of the Gothic Genre revolve around supernatural force and willpower, with a fair amount of dark content. Many unique Mental Powers can be found here, representing some Gothic Avatars' unique ability to enter the minds of others naturally and bend their will. Most Gothic Powers tend to be far less obvious than those of other Genres, and usually more insidious.

The Cartoon Genre is the wildcard of the Multiverse. This frame of reference does not take normal physical laws into effect, replacing them instead with a fluid set of standards which can change fairly quickly. Inhabitants of these universes generally set their own rules, and operate within standards which they alone have control over. They interact with each other on a level that is totally beyond what any other Genre can understand. This leads the inhabitants of these universes to adopt a very "wacky" approach to life, and this comes across as very comical to other Avatars. Powers of the Cartoon Genre are unlike other Powers in that their effects are unpredictable and sometimes absurd, but such is the nature of Cartoon Avatars. The most striking ability which all Cartoon Avatars share is that they can't "die" like other Avatars. Any time they would normally fade away and die (explained later), they instead bounce back in a short while and continue on their merry way.

The Terran Genre represents the majority of the Multiverse. While we've spent a great deal of time talking about the other Genres, you need to understand that 99% of the Multiverse is actually very ordinary. However, Avatars in the Nexus are disproportionately represented because in order to make it to Nexus, one usually tends to be an extraordinary being. That having been said, there are a few "ordinary" Avatars who find their way into the Nexus, and since they are adept at mastering great feats in both body and mind, they tend to develop faster than Avatars who already have a more unusual frame of reference. Terran Powers are very mundane, but with steady advancement, many Terran Avatars can build up their own natural Skills and Stats.

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